The emergency (hand) brake activates the rear wheels with a cable (not the hydraulic system). It was designed back in the days when a breach in the hydraulic system could prevent all hydraulic breaks from working.
Driving with the hand brake on could cause the rear pads/shoes to get hot and glaze. It could also cause the rear rotors/drums to warp, resulting in grabby breaks.
Hot brakes sometimes don't work. So, if you use your brakes too much going down a hill (instead of shifting to a lower gear to slow down your car), the brakes could fade and you won't be able to stop. This is a common cause of people driving off of mountain roads and crashing.
If front brakes overheat, they can melt bearing grease and cause premature bearing failure (weld the bearing to the spindle and skid that tire and cause the car to skid into oncoming cars or flip). But, remember, the emergency brakes only put on the rear brakes.
Emergency brakes usually don't stop the car as effectively as the regular hydraulic brake system (this is why you are able to drive with your brakes on). They can be adjusted tighter by a turnkey in the cable linkage. If they are too tight, they will drag and heat up the rear brakes.
Advice: Now that you drove with your emergency brake on, take your car to a mechanic to have it inspected, and make sure that you check each of the things that I discussed above.
does the car still go and stop? It will be ok. I once did a test drive in an old vw beetle with the hand brake on. It filled with smoke, but was ok after,
If you drove far enough and heated your drums/routers enough not only could you "glaze"your shoes/pads but the smell could have ben your wheel cylinders leeking and you burning it up from your hot brakes...and its really not great on your brake components...If it was me I would get everything checked out just to be sure....
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Hope it helps.
yeah, you shouldn't do that, remember to check before your put your car into gear.
You'll see a red "brake" light on your dash, just be careful.
now, you might want to get your brake master cylinder looked at by a mechanic, and do some price shopping on autozone if you feel like you want to drive with anti lock brakes.
yup .when you use your handbrake you tend to move forward and it is quit risky
I was in a rush, I forgot to put the handbrake down until I noticed the handbrake still up after driving half a mile. There is also this smell lingering. What is that?
